Germany vs Sweden: Public social spending as share of GDP
Germany
27.9%
in 2024
Sweden
26.1%
in 2024
Germany rank
5th
Sweden rank
8th
Public social spending as share of GDP over time
- Germany
- Sweden
How they compare
Germany currently reports 27.9% against 26.1% in Sweden, a difference of 1.8%.
That makes Germany's figure about 1.1 times Sweden's.
The two have swapped places 5 times across 69 shared years of data; in 1880 it was Sweden ahead.
Germany ranks 5th and Sweden ranks 8th of 42 countries.
Across the 11 decades both report, Germany averaged higher in 4 and Sweden in 7.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Germany | Sweden | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 0.5% | 0.7% | 0.2% | Sweden |
| 1890s | 0.5% | 0.8% | 0.3% | Sweden |
| 1900s | 0.6% | 0.8% | 0.3% | Sweden |
| 1930s | 4.8% | 2.6% | 2.2% | Germany |
| 1960s | 16.2% | 12.6% | 3.6% | Germany |
| 1970s | 20.2% | 20.0% | 0.2% | Germany |
| 1980s | 22.2% | 26.0% | 3.7% | Sweden |
| 1990s | 24.7% | 30.3% | 5.6% | Sweden |
| 2000s | 25.6% | 27.3% | 1.7% | Sweden |
| 2010s | 25.8% | 27.2% | 1.4% | Sweden |
| 2020s | 28.2% | 26.3% | 2.0% | Germany |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher public social spending as share of gdp, Germany or Sweden?
- Germany, at 27.9% against 26.1% in Sweden as of 2024.
- What is the difference in public social spending as share of gdp between Germany and Sweden?
- 1.8%, with Germany ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Germany and Sweden?
- 69 years are reported by both, from 1880 to 2024.
- How do Germany and Sweden rank globally for public social spending as share of gdp?
- Germany ranks 5th and Sweden ranks 8th of 42 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- OECD (2025); OECD (1985); Lindert (2004) β with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Public social spending as share of GDP. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Public social expenditure divided bt gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage.